Author: Kelly Cawcutt

Celebrating Global Handwashing Day!

Established by the Global Handwashing Partnership in 2008, Global Handwashing Day is celebrated each year on October 15 as a way to increase awareness and understanding of the benefits of handwashing with soap. Global Handwashing Day is an opportunity to get involved in creative ways to encourage people to wash their hands with soap at critical times. […]

Oct 15, 2019

Placing PICCs for Antibiotics – Potential Undue Risks May Outweight Benefits

PICC placement is common practice for intravenous (IV) antibiotic needs, however, we may be inadvertently placing certain patients at higher risks for complications. A recent study by Paje et al assessed the frequency of PICC placement among patients with CKD stage 3b or greater, a practice discordant with current guidelines. This prospective study included data […]

Jul 19, 2019

NBU

Propagation of Misinformation – Lessons From the 2019 Ebola Outbreak

This month, two concerning stories about the ongoing epidemic of Ebola virus disease (Ebola for short) in Africa grabbed our attention. On Monday, several social media sites circulated posts about Congolese refugees who had crossed the border from Mexico to Texas and tested positive for Ebola. The various posts circulated widely enough that they were […]

Jun 24, 2019

Preparing for Measles – What You Need to Know

Measles is one of the most contagious infections and is acute respiratory viral infection currently causing an outbreak of infection through the United States. Measles was first described hundreds of years ago and became a reportable infection in the US in 1912. In 1963, the first vaccine for measles became available. Efforts focused on measles […]

Jun 6, 2019

UNMC IDSHEAROES Enter the Race Against Resistance – Read Their Top Ten Reasons

Life-threatening infections caused by antimicrobial resistant organisms, commonly referred to as ‘superbugs’ have taken the media by storm. MRSA, VRE, MDRO, KPC, CRE, CDI – all acronyms that put fear in our hearts that one day, we will have run out of treatment options. That one day, our patients will die from infections that we […]

Jun 1, 2019

How Can UNMC ID Help Support You In 2019?

We are excited to be closing in on our 2 year anniversary of our blog. With that anniversary, we have several positive changes coming for our team. Drs. Kelly Cawcutt and Jasmine Marcelin have been appointed Co-Directors for Digital Innovation & Social Media Strategy for the UNMC Division of Infectious Diseases. We also hired a […]

Feb 6, 2019

Baloxavir Marboxil for Uncomplicated Influenza – Worth the Cost?

Influenza season is in full swing and with that, the discussions surrounding treatment are heating up! Dr. Hankins, a second year ID fellow, led our recent journal club discussion on Baloxavir. The New England Journal of Medicine article, Baloxavir Marboxil for Uncomplicated Influenza in Adults and Adolescents, discusses two randomized control trials, that were double-blinded for […]

Jan 28, 2019

It’s Getting Hot in Here: The Conundrum of Fever in the ICU

Fever has plagued mankind through the ages although was not until the 1600s when Thomas Sydenham reportedly first recognized that fever was an innate response” to get rid of the injurious agents causing the disease”. In the intensive care unit, fever is one of the most common abnormal signs documented and frequently results in changes […]

Jan 24, 2019

Global Burden of Tuberculosis: Are We Making Any Improvements?

UNMC is a proud to play a critical role in biopreparedness and global health, which also means we have to stay up-to-date on global health, including tuberculosis. In a recent Infectious Diseases journal club, Dr. Lawler presented the following 2018 Lancet article on the global burden of TB. Global, regional, and national burden of tuberculosis, […]

Jan 21, 2019

Happy Holidays!

As the holiday season comes to a close, we here at UNMC ID want to wish each and everyone of you a happy, healthy holiday season and a wonderful start to 2019! Thank you for your continued support in our endeavor to bring you the latest news, updates and research from our amazing faculty & […]

Dec 31, 2018